Current Events https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/Current%20Events%20/feed
enMuir wins $100,000 Weston prize for a lifetime of Arctic researchhttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/muir-wins-100000-weston-prize-lifetime-arctic-research
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<img src="https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/Article/magazine/DSC_0185.JPG" alt="Dr. Derek Muir conducting field research in the Arctic/photo provided by author" title="Dr. Derek Muir conducting field research in the Arctic/photo provided by author" width="200" height="110" class="imagecache imagecache-Article imagecache-default imagecache-Article_default"/> </div>
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<p dir="ltr"><strong>Arctic researcher Dr. Derek Muir</strong> was awarded the $100,000 Weston Family Foundation prize this week for his decades of work detailing how persistent chemicals in the environment travel to and through northern waters and species.</p>
<p dir="ltr">For more than 30 years, Muir has worked with Canadian government and university scientists to better understand how pollutants like mercury and flame retardants travel thousands of kilometres via ocean currents from rivers in Northern Europe and lakes in Southern Canada to settle in the tissue of polar bears, fish, whales and humans.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We've regulated these chemicals in many cases early on like DDT in the 1980s and PCBs,” Muir tells A\J, “but they're so persistently living in our environment and circulating globally in some cases.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Over the years, Muir’s work has been instrumental in shifting national policies regarding how we manage the discharge of chemical contaminants and how we react to their presence in the environment. Muir’s research on mercury contamination in the north was one reason why the Government of Nunavut issued a warning in 2012 <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/study-says-ringed-seal-liver-dangerous-for-pregnant-women-1.1219765">against eating large quantities of ringed seal liver</a> for women of childbearing age.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new" dir="ltr">We've regulated these chemicals in many cases early on like DDT in the 1980s and PCBs, but they're so persistently living in our environment and circulating globally.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But despite decades of research showing how persistent organic pollutants move through waterways to infect new environments, Muir says many questions remain as to what impact many chemicals are having on northern flora and fauna.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The chemicals that I'm measuring, I will say that I wouldn't be able to report any actual impact,” he says. At least not yet.&nbsp;“The levels are generally below what we think are probably causing a biological effect. And the animals have lots of other stressors like changing diets because of global warming and changing land cover.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Beyond Canada, Muir’s work has also been used to set policy through major international agreements, including the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the 2014 Minamata Convention on Mercury. &nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Dr. Muir has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the greater implications of chemical contaminants, resulting in strengthened policy that protects the environment and raises awareness of human risk associated with exposure,” says Geordie Dalglish, director of the Weston Foundation and chair of its northern committee.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The prize was awarded through the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies and handed out at ArcticNet 20218’s annual meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday. In addition to $50,000 given to Muir directly is an additional $50,000 he aims to direct at ongoing research looking at how global warming will impact Arctic drinking water.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I think making people aware of this potential impact of global warming on drinking water supplies in the Canadian Arctic is something we should be doing,” Muir says. “It’s an emerging issue.”</p>
Current Events Climate ChangePollutionScientistsWaterThu, 13 Dec 2018 16:33:29 +0000Andrew Reeves EIC4414 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caBuilding housing on flood plains another sign of growing inequalityhttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/building-housing-flood-plains-another-sign-growing-inequality
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<p>Many cities around the world face a lack of affordable housing in and around expensive central business districts.&nbsp;Employers want cheaper&nbsp;labourers, who <a href="http://www.waterfrontforall.ca/wfa_letter_on_portlands_planning">need more affordable housing</a> in accordance with their lower salaries, to live nearby. So&nbsp;developers are invited to <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/google-sidewalk-toronto-waterfront/article36612387/">build on flood plains</a>, without consequences. And often there is no public involvement in the decision.</p>
<p>Flood plains are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/27/homes-and-companies-should-be-built-on-flood-plains-despite-risks-says-panel">easy to build on because they are flat and, in cities, they tend to be close to amenities</a>. Yet all parties involved in housing know that cities are facing&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01035.x">more rainfall</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/27/homes-and-companies-should-be-built-on-flood-plains-despite-risks-says-panel">flooding due to climate change</a>. Cities are now starting to prepare for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-2018-4">catastrophic floods</a>,&nbsp;and&nbsp;research has estimated<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800906003041"> flooding losses in the United States</a> to be increasing dramatically.</p>
<p>Irresponsible and autocratic choices made by elites, at Waterfront Toronto for example, leave unsuspecting,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/real-estate/video/waterfront-toronto-races-to-add-40-000-affordable-homes~1094087">lower-paid professionals</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://urbanomnibus.net/2014/10/the-storm-that-will-be-protecting-public-housing-in-the-new-100-year-floodplain/">dangerous circumstances</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-flood-finding-ways-to-insure-the-uninsurable-without-breaking-the-bank-23110">rising insurance costs</a>&nbsp;and potentially bad investments. That’s because, in the future, flood insurance may become prohibitively expensive or insurers may decide not to cover such high-risk properties, making them difficult to sell.</p>
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Flood risks worldwide</h2>
<p>Difficult housing choices are reflective of a broader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lawrence-summers-its-time-to-balance-the-power-between-workers-and-employers/2017/09/03/b1c9714e-901e-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html?utm_term=.16519767438f">loss of worker power and associated income inequality</a>. Research shows that densely populated areas&nbsp;<a href="https://www.prb.org/disaster-risk/">are more vulnerable to disasters</a>&nbsp;— the same disaster affects more people in dense environments. And where there is income inequality, there are more victims of natural catastrophes.</p>
<p>Cities dominated by appointed, un-elected officials, such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/portal/waterfront/Home/waterfronthome/about-us/who-we-are/board%20of%20directors/!ut/p/a0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfGjzOL9DF1cDQ39DbwNXF2MDBydfSyc_DxDjIyCDPULsh0VAaApXSE!/pw/Z7_N1DE11O0K0ED20ACL8BNIT2Q46/ren/p=CTX=QCPwaterfront_content_libraryQCPWaterfrontQCAHomeQCPabout-usQCPwhoQCAweQCAareQCPboardQCAofQCAdirectors/p=WCM_PI=1/p=ns_Z7_N1DE11O0K0ED20ACL8BNIT2QFB46_WCM_Page.1cfc636a-d084-4f3d-bd2d-404abce32ee0=5/=/">board members of Waterfront Toronto</a>, are helping to generate&nbsp;<a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9af7/ebd0b4debeb334e2cd97dd1b67ebb8ff2916.pdf">this inequality.</a></p>
<p>In the U.K., where there’s an ongoing housing crisis,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/27/homes-and-companies-should-be-built-on-flood-plains-despite-risks-says-panel">government has approved building on flood plains as long as the new homeowners are made aware of the risks in advance</a>. At least the British are having an honest conversation about it.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2018/07/31/sidewalk-labs-deal-unlocks-40-million-us-for-quayside-high-tech-district.html">In Toronto, we are not</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/concentrated-poverty-in-new-orleans-and-other-american-cities/">New Orleans has long relegated its poorer populations to lower elevations by the Mississippi River</a>, where floods and subsequent disease have devastated the city. The terrible treatment of Hurricane Katrina’s victims in New Orleans is a continuation of an enduring history of racism.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">At least the British are having an honest conversation about building in flood plains.&nbsp;In Toronto, we are not.</p>
<p>Research also describes how in the&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2007.00884.x">flood plains of Bangladesh, income inequality</a>&nbsp;is related to a higher risk of flooding and lower preparedness to deal with floods.</p>
<p>In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/9083-South-China-faces-worst-floods-in-decades">South China</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/992632/typhoon-ampil-shanghai-latest-news-flights-cancelled-shanghai-tower-disney-resort-china">increasing rainfall</a>&nbsp;has left millions of the poor living in such dangerous low-lying areas that China’s president has called in the army.</p>
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Public space can be climate-adaptive</h2>
<p>Today, most North American coastal cities are in danger of climate-related sea level elevations and storm surges.&nbsp;<a href="http://thiseastside.com/new-york-city-flooding/">Hurricane Sandy caught New York’s elite off guard</a>&nbsp;because they became victims too. It didn’t matter whether you were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-hogan/hurricane-sandy-recovery_b_2067605.html">in the Upper East Side or in Harlem</a>.</p>
<p>In wealthy south Florida, saltwater rises not only directly from the sea, but also up through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-2018-4">porous limestone</a>, so Miami cannot use the same climate adaptation approaches as in some other cities, like adding green space.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article129284119.html">Miami is working to add pumps and other infrastructure instead.</a></p>
<p>Toronto could turn its remaining waterfront space into parkland, instead of housing developments, as a protective barrier.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-flooding-manhattan-coastal-barriers-2018-4">New York City is going to build a wall</a>&nbsp;around the lower part of Manhattan, and add a park. The Dutch are using public space to absorb floodwater.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-2018-4">New Orleans is building parks</a>&nbsp;to double as reservoirs for floodwaters, on the advice of the Dutch.</p>
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Toronto’s recent floods a wakeup call</h2>
<p>Toronto has had a few waterfront floods over the years, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-waterfront-repair-budget-shortfalls-1.4748644">this year</a>&nbsp;and last,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-flood-repair-delay-1.4479580">damaging the Toronto Islands in 2017</a>. The city faced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blogto.com/city/2018/06/toronto-wind-and-rain-storm-wreaks-havoc-toronto/">several storms in 2018</a>&nbsp;with violent winds and flooding downtown.&nbsp;Some wealthy Torontonians<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/realestate/muskoka-the-malibu-of-the-north.html"> leave the city for private lakefront properties </a>in cottage country, but others live within limited space affected by the aftermath of catastrophes.&nbsp;The Toronto Islands recovery, for example, is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-flood-repair-delay-1.4479580">still ongoing</a> and has not yet been fully paid for.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, new Toronto lakefront condominium developments&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2018/07/31/sidewalk-labs-deal-unlocks-40-million-us-for-quayside-high-tech-district.html">are proceeding</a>&nbsp;in the Quayside and Portlands neighbourhoods, near the Islands, on&nbsp;flood plains <a href="https://nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/brown-fields">historically contaminated</a> by heavy metals, oil and coal.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/real-estate/video/waterfront-toronto-races-to-add-40-000-affordable-homes~1094087">“Workforce housing”</a>&nbsp;is a required part of the plan.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1024px-Flooding_in_Dufferin_Street_underpass_beneath_railway_tracks%2C_2013-07-08.JPG" style="width: 675px; height: 506px;" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Flooding in July 2013 at Queen Street W and Dufferin Street that left cars and public&nbsp;transit vehicles stranded. (Eastmain CC BY-SA)</em></p>
<p>Will Flessig, former Waterfront Toronto CEO, says that middle-income professionals are expected to settle in the waterfront condominiums so that they can be closer to where they work.</p>
<p>But no one in Toronto is talking about the flood plains,&nbsp;<a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/breaking-ground-on-1-25b-flood-protection-project-at-toronto-s-port-lands-1.3755189">since elected officials apparently consider the issue resolved</a>. Based on a plan developed in 2007, the&nbsp;federal and provincial governments are <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/toronto-waterfront-to-undergo-1185-billion-flood-protection-makeover/article35488214/">investing $1.185 billion </a>to reconstruct the mouth of the Don River&nbsp;so that the water safely flows into Lake Ontario.</p>
<p>However, the waterfront area still remains a flood plain, and is still affected by storm surges associated with climate change.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">In the best interests of homeowners, the public and climate adaptation, what’s left of Toronto’s waterfront should be public parks, not condominiums billed as 'workforce housing.'</p>
<p>Building on flood plains has serious consequences, including future&nbsp;<a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/water-is-the-new-fire-national-strategy-needed-for-flooding-says-insurance-expert">uninsurable</a>&nbsp;buildings as insurance companies anticipate they won’t be able to afford the payouts. A single major flood causes a great deal of damage and requires insurance companies to pay all at once. With a higher frequency of catastrophic floods and the corresponding required payouts, the pool of insurance premiums collected to cover the losses dries up,&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01035.x">and insurance companies face bankruptcy.</a></p>
<p>Before that happens and buildings are left derelict, people and property are endangered. We recently saw&nbsp;<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4375978/toronto-flooding-rescue-elevator/">life-threatening flooding of buildings</a>&nbsp;in Toronto, and there are limited rescue personnel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/heavy-showers-1.4777111">to address all of the issues at the same time when mass floods happen</a>.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, damage to personal property can be overwhelming — for example, to cars and contents within condominium lockers in underground parking garages. In Toronto, we have also seen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/08/08/lucky-passengers-escape-flooded-streetcar.html">streetcars submerged in water</a>&nbsp;recently with people trapped inside.</p>
<p>Fixing the damage therefore adds costs to public transit. Water quality and disease concerns are also heightened as storm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/08/09/flash-flooding-has-created-sickening-mess-in-toronto-harbour-water-monitoring-group-says.html">sewage systems cannot handle increasing rainfall volumes</a>. Over the longer term,&nbsp;<a href="https://rimkus.com/news/structural-damage-due-to-floods">repeated flooding also weakens building foundations</a>.</p>
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Hard to manage water levels</h2>
<p>On a broader scale in the Great Lakes region, the ability&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378001000267">to adapt to changing</a>&nbsp;conditions is reduced. That’s because the ability of water officials to manage water levels is much more difficult when condominiums and other housing is built on flood plains.</p>
<p>For example, water flows are somewhat controlled in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/03/14/news/water-flowing-out-lake-ontario-hit-record-high-last-month">Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River</a>&nbsp;watersheds through an international agreement called Plan 2014. If buildings are in the path of water flow, this complicates and limits the range of adjustment options.</p>
<p>We know now what we’re confronting. Let’s learn from past mistakes. In the best interests of homeowners, the public and climate adaptation, what’s left of Toronto’s waterfront should be public parks, not condominiums billed as “workforce housing.”</p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-housing-on-flood-plains-another-sign-of-growing-inequality-101552">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101552/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" async="async"></script>Current Events AdaptationClimate ChangeCommunityDesignResilienceWaterWed, 22 Aug 2018 18:28:41 +0000Andrew Reeves EIC4350 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caEarliest Earth Overshoot Day in Historyhttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/earliest-earth-overshoot-day-history
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<p dir="ltr">August 1st 2018 is the earliest day in history that humanity has used up more resources than the planet can renew in one year. The Global Footprint Network annually estimates how early all of humanity has used up a year’s worth of the Earth’s resources. It’s called “Earth Overshoot Day,” and this year we’ve reached it two months earlier than in 1997, when it occurred in late September. This unprecedented exhaustion of resources signifies the alarming pressures humans are exerting on the planet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Global Footprint Network currently estimates we need 1.7 earths to support present levels of human activity. In Canada, we are doing far worse. If all 7.6 billion people in the world lived like Canadians, 4.7 earths would be required. In this scenario, Earth Overshoot Day would be reached on March 18. Canadians are feeling the repercussions. The country’s ecosystems are already under pressure, and according to the WWF, 50% of monitored vertebrate species experienced declines from 1970 to 2014, of which the average decline was by 83%.</p>
<p>In A/J’s Ecological Economics issue 43.1, ecological economist Brett Dolter <a href="http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/science-and-solutions/electrify-everything">argued</a> the best path for a sustainable Canada is to electrify all societal infrastructure, and then source all electricity renewably. While the idea is simple enough, one issue holding Canada back from using resources more efficiently is our aging and outdated North American electrical grid. According to the Canadian Electricity Association, it requires “a wave of infrastructure investment and renewal on an unprecedented scale”. We cannot transition to flexible and renewable energy sources without the grid to match. This new type of grid is called a “smart grid,” and it makes better use of existing power generation, transmission, and distribution assets. It is more resilient, is safer, and creates good middle-class jobs for Canadians.</p>
<p dir="ltr">To address this issue, the Government of Canada announced in January of 2018 that it would be investing up to $100 million for utility-led projects that would make use of smart grid technologies. The funding was provided as part of the 2017 Budget, which promised $21.9 billion in funding for green infrastructure. It is a promising start, and will be one of the solutions to our overuse of resources.</p>
<p>To calculate your own personal Earth Overshoot Day, head over to <a href="http://www.footprintcalculator.org/">http://www.footprintcalculator.org/</a> . To read more about tomorrow’s infrastructure, go to the Canadian Electricity Association’s page, <a href="https://electricity.ca/lead/powering-canadas-economy/investing-tomorrows-infrastructure/">https://electricity.ca/lead/powering-canadas-economy/investing-tomorrows-infrastructure/</a>.</p>
Current Events TechnologyWed, 01 Aug 2018 16:45:46 +0000editorial4308 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caWho needs science advice anyway? Governments, for onehttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/who-needs-science-advice-anyway-governments-one
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<p>There has been much consternation within the Ontario research community since Premier Doug Ford&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/04/doug-ford-ontario-chief-scientist_a_23474870/">summarily dismissed</a>&nbsp;the province’s first chief scientist,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~molly/home.html">Molly Shoichet</a>, after she’d been in the job for only six months.</p>
<p>The new government, elected on a populist wave in June, quickly fired the esteemed scientist — widely lauded for her biomedical engineering expertise and skill at communicating science — only a few days after being sworn in. Yet the new government has promised to appoint a replacement.</p>
<p>The move raises the question: What is the role of a “chief scientist” within government?</p>
<h2>Spotty history</h2>
<p>Canada has had a spotty history with such scientific advisory positions.</p>
<p>Arthur Carty was Canada’s first national science adviser, holding the position from 2004 to 2008, until it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/scientists-lament-closing-of-key-advisory-office-1.756700">ended unceremoniously</a>, as his office was largely neglected. Justin Trudeau’s government appointed&nbsp;<a href="https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/09/26/prime-minister-introduces-canadas-new-top-scientist">Mona Nemer as chief science adviser</a>&nbsp;in 2016.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.scientifique-en-chef.gouv.qc.ca/en/le-scientifique-en-chef/">Québec</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2017/11/ontario-names-molly-shoichet-the-provinces-first-chief-scientist.html">Ontario</a>&nbsp;have also created similar roles.</p>
<p>These appointments offer several benefits. These advisers are a signal to the public that governments care about science, they have held leadership roles for reports on scientific questions important to Canadians — including the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sciencereview.ca/">Naylor Report on Fundamental Science</a>, which reviewed the status of publicly funded research in Canada — and they’ve acted as ambassadors for&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ChiefSciCan/status/1016381084240629761">international scientific cooperation</a>.</p>
<h2>Science connections</h2>
<p>Around the world, governments engage various mechanisms to connect to scientific advice and knowledge, from dedicated offices to formal engagements of arms-length scientific bodies to, well, nothing.</p>
<p>The U.K., for example, has had a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-office-for-science#management">chief science adviser</a>&nbsp;since 1964. It has been held by 13 people (all men) and reports to the prime minister and cabinet.</p>
<p>The connection between government and scientific advice in the U.K. goes back much further, however. Since the 18th century, the government has referred questions of scientific import to the&nbsp;<a href="https://royalsociety.org/about-us/history/">Royal Society</a>&nbsp;for comment.</p>
<p>In the U.S., the science advisory role has traditionally been filled by the&nbsp;<a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43935.pdf">Office of Science and Technology Policy</a>&nbsp;(OSTP). (Its predecessor, the Office of Science Research and Development, was famously helmed by the first U.S. science adviser,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/30/archives/dr-vannevar-bush-is-dead-at-84-dr-vannevar-bush-who-marshaled.html">Vannevar Bush</a>, during the Second World War.)</p>
<p>There is currently no science adviser leading OSTP&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Science_and_Technology_Policy">after 27 continuous appointments</a>. Its current&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-rsquo-s-science-advisor-age-31-has-a-political-science-degree/">de facto head</a>&nbsp;has a degree in political science. His predecessor was a lauded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.belfercenter.org/person/john-p-holdren">physicist and environmental scientist</a>.</p>
<h2>Vacant politics</h2>
<p>The leadership vacancy in the OSTP is a political act, as it is in Ontario, raising the obvious question of whether the position of science adviser is a political one.</p>
<p>Science, per se, doesn’t care what the political leanings are of the prevailing, elected body. But a human is required to distil that information and provide it in an advisory capacity.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/news/policy-the-art-of-science-advice-to-government-1.14838">Peter Gluckman</a>, New Zealand’s first science adviser (2009-2017), noted that, first and foremost, the role requires earning and keeping the public’s trust and to act as a broker rather than an advocate for science.</p>
<p>Indeed, many scientists think these roles are a conduit to more funding for research. That is neither true nor desirable. If a government thought that every time they sought the wisdom of their chief scientist it would be accompanied by a bill of goods, there would be little consultation.</p>
<p>The decision to act upon evidence or set it aside is neither the responsibility nor competency of a scientific adviser. That decision rests solely with elected politicians who, in turn, should demand all of the evidence, whether it is supportive or not for their purposes.</p>
<p>But it pays to remember that advisers are human (and may inject some slant), and that politicians like those who make their decisions easier, even if that means receiving advice that is partially inaccurate or incomplete.</p>
<p>In other words, the role of science adviser is not as straightforward as many may imagine. But it must be.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">"The decision to act upon evidence or set it aside is neither the responsibility nor competency of a scientific adviser. That decision rests solely with elected politicians who, in turn, should demand all of the evidence."</p>
<h2>Science, dismissed</h2>
<p>For example, the OSTP leadership vacancy sends a clear political message: The current U.S. administration does not see value in a chief science adviser — a message amplified by severe depletion and neglect of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/trump-s-white-house-science-office-still-small-and-waiting-leadership">OSTP staff</a>&nbsp;and even its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/">stub of a website</a>.</p>
<p>There must be some input of science into decision-making in Washington, but the long-established structure is being dismantled and replaced by far less rigorous channels.</p>
<p>At a time of ubiquitous fake information, pseudoscience and a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13524677">King Canute-like resistance</a>&nbsp;to global warming and the benefits of vaccination, the wanton dereliction of the OSTP can only be seen as intentional dismissal of science as being relevant to policy.</p>
<p>The wilful ignorance of often inconvenient scientific evidence is nothing new. But in the past its occurrence existed against the backdrop of a largely uneducated populace where science challenged the beliefs and desires of the powerful few, such as hereditary land owners and religious hierarchies.</p>
<h2>Science is expensive, good advice is cheap</h2>
<p>Modern society is now utterly dependent upon technologies based on physical principles few of us understand.</p>
<p>We demand progress in our quality of life that can only be fuelled by more research and development. New technologies, in turn, drive substantive changes within those same societies that demand them, causing economic and population disruption — along with eradication of more diseases, less poverty and longer life expectancy.</p>
<p>Along with the good, there are negative consequences as a result of scientific development, including urbanization, pollution, ecosystem destruction, species extinction, etc.</p>
<p>In this context, the role of science advisers to government has never been more necessary and their purity of purpose more essential.</p>
<p>These roles require a person of the highest integrity, with the ability to communicate complexity, who appreciates and can absorb the remarkable breadth of science and is also familiar with the political process.</p>
<p>However, they must absolutely be aware of — and resist bias in — their advice. They must also require complete independence and respect for their role from their appointing governors. They must, first and foremost, be respected scientists who can bring the rigour of a scientific mind to government.</p>
<p>In this light, the OSTP vacancy could be seen as a positive outcome — an adviser who provides government with only what it wants to hear is more dangerous than having no advice at all.</p>
<p>Ontarians, on the other hand, are not there yet. They, and their elected representatives, should demand that the new chief science adviser must be at least as proficient, objective, rigorous, respected and gracious as Molly Shoichet.</p>
<p>That will be one difficult seat to fill.</p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-needs-science-advice-anyway-governments-for-one-99500">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99500/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" async="async"></script>Current Events EducationResearchScientistsFri, 20 Jul 2018 15:47:39 +0000Andrew Reeves EIC4289 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caTaxpayers will back a carbon tax if they get a cheque in the mailhttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/taxpayers-will-back-carbon-tax-if-they-get-cheque-mail
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<p>Ontario’s new premier, Doug Ford, is scrapping the province’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/cap-and-trade">cap-and-trade</a>&nbsp;program, designed to reward businesses that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as part of his promise to make gasoline more affordable.</p>
<p>Where does carbon policy in Canada’s most populous province go from here?</p>
<p>Climate change isn’t going away by ignoring it and doing nothing. While Ford, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer all oppose carbon pricing, they do not offer any coherent alternative policies for mitigating climate change.</p>
<p>Under the current federal mandate, with no provincial policy in place, the federal government will enforce a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/20170518-2-en.pdf">backstop carbon levy</a>&nbsp;on recalcitrant provinces. This levy, charged on all fuels that emit greenhouse gases, is due to rise to $50 a tonne by 2022, a carbon price almost twice the predicted price of carbon permits in 2022 under Ontario’s cap-and-trade system, linked with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/capandtrade.htm">California</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/changements/carbone/Systeme-plafonnement-droits-GES-en.htm">Québec</a>.</p>
<p>The federal government accepted Ontario’s cap-and-trade system because the predicted carbon reductions under it were at least as large as those under a unilateral carbon backstop.</p>
<p>The theory is that California, with its older energy infrastructure and a larger industrial base, would supply a large number of cheap permits, allowing Ontario and Québec to reduce global emissions at a lower cost than if they instituted a provincial carbon tax.</p>
<p>But there’s uncertainty if the national carbon policy will succeed against populist politicians like Doug Ford, who has vilified carbon pricing as&nbsp;<a href="https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/cap-and-trade-pumping-ontarians-dry-pc-leader-ford-says">“the biggest rip-off I’ve ever seen.”</a></p>
<p>Jason Kenney promises to rid Alberta of its broad-based carbon tax if elected premier of Alberta. If that happens, there will be very little provincial support for the federal plan.</p>
<p>This political challenge is probably larger than the legal challenge launched by Saskatchewan against the federal carbon price. The federal government has broad powers to institute nationwide taxation under the Constitution.</p>
<h2>Implementing a carbon tax differently</h2>
<p>If the Justin Trudeau government wishes to reassert its green credentials, it will have to implement its backstop policy even in the face of vociferous opposition from Ontario and Saskatchewan. But to keep broad support for the plan, it might also have to change the way it implements it.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">In 2016, Ontario emitted 160 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. If a carbon price of $20 a tonne was applied to those emissions, the $3.2 billion revenue could be divided equally among Ontario’s 14.2 million residents.&nbsp;</p>
<p>British Columbia’s carbon tax survived political changes because it was conceived as revenue-neutral: Tax revenue is returned through low-income climate action tax credits and other reductions of personal and corporate income taxes.</p>
<p>As currently written in the legislation, all revenue generated from the backstop should remain in the province. However, instead of returning it to the provincial government, the federal government should return it directly to taxpayers (<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4315244/trudeau-carbon-tax-proceeds-ontario/">Trudeau also hinted at this after his first meeting with Ford</a>).</p>
<p>Each person, young or old, could receive an annual “carbon dividend” cheque. It would be impossible to denounce such a policy as “yet another tax grab.”</p>
<p>A carbon dividend also mitigates the most significant economic objection: That a carbon levy burdens poorer households disproportionately. Returning the revenue on a per-capita basis will correct this undesirable distributional effect. It is also a family-friendly policy, if children receive the same amount as their parents.</p>
<h2>Family of four could get big dividend</h2>
<p>In 2016, Ontario emitted 160 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. If a carbon price of $20 a tonne was applied to those emissions, the $3.2 billion revenue could be divided equally among Ontario’s 14.2 million residents. An Ontario family of four would receive an annual $900 cheque that could climb to over $2,000 in 2022 when the levy reaches $50 a tonne - an approximation because as the tax rises the tax base will shrink over time.</p>
<p>Canada has committed, through the Paris Agreement, to reduce carbon emissions to limit the increase of the global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. That is a highly ambitious goal, and to meet Canada’s pledge, all provinces have to do their fair share to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.</p>
<p>Carbon pricing works,&nbsp;<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2778868">as our own research shows</a>. Per-capita fuel consumption decreases in response to permanent increases in fuel and carbon taxes. Much of the traction comes from purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles, and some from driving less or switching to other modes of transportation. Industry and households adjust likewise.</p>
<p>But the economic logic of carbon pricing is lost on voters if they only see what they will pay and not what they will get in return. A “carbon dividend” is Canada’s best hope to defend a much-needed climate change policy against resistance from antagonistic provincial governments.</p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/taxpayers-will-back-a-carbon-tax-if-they-get-a-cheque-in-the-mail-99825">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Twenty five years ago, I spent a summer removing plastic packing bands and plastic nets from 135 entangled Antarctic fur seals on Bird Island, South Georgia in the sub-Antarctic.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X96000537">Plastic marine waste discarded by the fishing industry</a>&nbsp;were the primary source of entanglements.</p>
<p>A quarter of a century later, plastic is still a huge problem. In the past month alone, we have seen&nbsp;<a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/whale-dead-plastic-bags-thailand-animals/">dead whales wash ashore with their stomachs full of plastic bags</a>.</p>
<p>This ought to be a strong enough signal to trigger collective action to clean up and improve governance of the plastics that have become this century’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00214/full">Tragedy of the Commons</a>.</p>
<p>Governments and individuals all need to reconsider how we use and dispose of our single-use plastics (SUPs). Within just two generations we have&nbsp;<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768">produced and discarded</a>&nbsp;so much plastic that we are now literally&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17309967">drowning in it</a>.</p>
<h2>Individual action</h2>
<p>Recently, a former colleague in Newfoundland was so fed up at staring at a pile of garbage dumped on nearby public property that she took it upon herself to clean it up. The result was almost a truckload of trash comprising five full garbage bags and other miscellaneous pieces, most of it SUPs.</p>
<p>We all use SUPs, not just those countries with the largest populations, and so we are all are culpable in contributing to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344918301368">global plastic pollution</a>.</p>
<p>Until recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00933-6">China was the world’s largest importer of recyclable materials</a>&nbsp;(including plastics) from developed countries, such as Canada, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/21/china-ban-plastic-waste-recycling/721879002/">United States</a>&nbsp;and European countries. But these imports have since been banned.</p>
<p>This has left many developed countries scrambling to figure out how to recycle or dispose of their SUPs, with many jurisdictions (from municipalities to entire countries) considering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17301650#bb0370">bans or fees on SUP bags</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, Prince Edward Island took the big step to announce new legislation to make it&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/ban-of-single-use-plastic-bags-now-legislation-in-pei-216854/#.Wxt3Uyd6544.twitter">the first province to ban SUP shopping bags</a>. Seattle is the first major U.S. city to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/07/01/seattle-becomes-first-major-u-s-city-to-ban-straws/?utm_term=.6323b2c64a68">ban the use of plastic drinking straws</a>.</p>
<h2>Government support</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344918300612">Canada is planning to adopt a zero-waste strategy</a>, and we recently heard more about these details in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/06/11/g7-ocean-plastic-charter-not-enough-advocates.html">non-binding G7 Ocean Plastics Charter</a>, which was agreed to by five of the seven participating nations and the European Union (EU). However, neither the United States nor Japan signed the voluntary agreement.</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">With governments setting unambitious targets, it seems that large corporations are now showing leadership by listening to consumers who are demanding less SUPs in their packing and food containers.</p>
<p>National and international organizations have also made recent announcements about how to reduce and improve recycling, but all have committed to widely varying time lines to achieve these goals.</p>
<p>For example, the United Nations Environment Programme (with support from 42 governments), declared a fight against plastics, announcing their global&nbsp;<a href="http://web.unep.org/about/majorgroups/news/clean-seas-global-campaign-marine-litter">Clean Seas campaign</a>&nbsp;in 2017 to eliminate major sources of marine debris by 2022.</p>
<p>The following year, the European Commission (EC) adopted the first&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/news/first-ever-europe-wide-strategy-plastics-2018-jan-16_en">Europe-wide strategy on plastics</a>, aiming for all plastic packaging in the EU to be reusable or recyclable — but not until 2030.</p>
<p>Lagging behind the international community, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/plastic-waste-uk-theresa-may-2042-vow-commitment-a8152446.html">United Kingdom announced it will eliminate “avoidable” plastic waste by 2042</a>&nbsp;— almost a generation away!</p>
<p>Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/consultations/moving-toward-zero-plastic-waste.html">Canada has also been soliciting comments and ideas on ways to reduce plastic pollution and improve recycling</a>.</p>
<h2>Corporations lead the way</h2>
<p>With governments setting unambitious targets, it seems that large corporations are now showing leadership by listening to consumers who are demanding less SUPs in their packing and food containers.</p>
<p>Recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44492352">McDonald’s announced that it would replace plastic straws with paper ones in all of its U.K. and Ireland restaurants, as of September 2018</a>. This strategy may soon be rolled out in other jurisdictions.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ikea-phase-out-plastic-1.4698132">IKEA has also committed to eliminating all SUP products</a>&nbsp;from its home furnishing range by 2020, including plastic straws, plates, cups, freezer bags, garbage bags and plastic-coated paper plates and cups.</p>
<p>Why has it taken so long to tackle this wicked problem?</p>
<p>Sure, the plastics industry has something to lose, and maybe governments also lack the will and technology to make the transition sooner?</p>
<p>But time is running out.</p>
<p>I’m just glad that the Romans invented viaducts and straight roads instead of SUPs, as we likely wouldn’t be here today if they had. Giving up a&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-to-ban-plastic-bags-94350?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=twitterbutton">plastic straw, stirrer or bag</a>&nbsp;might not be so bad after all.</p>
<p>If I have to choose between “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/planetorplastic/">Planet or Plastic</a>”, I know which I’ll pick. What about you?</p>
<p><em>This&nbsp;article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-clean-up-our-universal-plastic-tragedy-98565">The Coversation</a>.</em></p>
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<p dir="ltr">An expert panel charged by Ottawa with creating indicators to measure how effectively Canadians are adapting to climate change tabled its final report with the federal government Tuesday.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Led by Blair Feltmate from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/adapting/expert-panel-adaptation-resilience/panel-members.html">the panel</a>, consisting of academics, engineers and business leaders from across the country, was asked by Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna in August 2017 to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2017/08/the_government_ofcanadacreatesanexpertpanelonadaptingtoclimatech.html">advise the federal government</a> on how best to measure efforts to enhance Canada’s climate change resiliency.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Climate change impacts are being felt across Canada in significant ways,” the report states. “With observed increases in average temperature and precipitation over the last six decades, including especially rapid rates of warming in the North, climate change is already affecting Canada’s environment and economy.”</p>
<p>But according to the panel, the impacts of climate change, and our ability to respond resolutely to the challenges they pose, also take a toll on the physical, mental, cultural, and spiritual health of Canadians.Look no further than the wildfires that raged in Fort McMurray, Alberta in 2016, they note, where 90,000 people were displaced as firefighters struggled to contain and extinguish the flames. The cost of property damage alone <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/01/17/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-financial-impact-reaches-almost-10b-study-says.html">reached almost $10 billion</a>. In 2013, thanks to substantial flooding in Calgary and Toronto and an ice storm in Quebec, Canadian insurers <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/investing/2014/07/05/a_year_after_the_toronto_flood.html">paid out more than $3.2 billion</a> in climate-related claims.</p>
<p>“As these impacts are projected to intensify in the coming decades,” they write, “it is essential that Canadians act now to adapt and build their resilience to climate change.”</p>
<h2><span style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: myriad-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Breaking down resilience indicators</span></h2>
<p>After eight months of deliberations and consultations, the 189-page <em><a href="http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/eccc/En4-329-2018-eng.pdf">Measuring Progress on Adaptation and Climate Resilience</a></em> proposes a suite of 54 resilience indicators narrowed into five key areas:</p>
<ul dir="ltr">
<li>Protecting and improving human health and well-being;</li>
<li>Supporting vulnerable regions, particularly Canada’s northern, coastal and remote regions, by monitoring slow onset climate-related shifts like thawing permafrost or eroding coastlines;</li>
<li>Reducing climate-related hazards and disaster risks by better understanding how to predict, prevent and respond to “rapid-onset climate-related events” like floods and wildfires;</li>
<li>Building climate resilience through traditional, cultural and natural infrastructure and boosting the ways they interact with one another; and</li>
<li>Translating scientific information and Indigenous knowledge into action.</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr">The categories are purposely “diverse” and “broad”, the panel notes, “consistent with the scale, scope, and complexity of the climate change challenge.”</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Not an exhaustive list</h2>
<p class="pull-quote-new">“As these impacts are projected to intensify in the coming decades, it is essential that Canadians act now to adapt and build their resilience to climate change.”</p>
<p>The catalogue of indicators included in Measuring Progress is far from complete, they note. Rather, those listed represent a “small fraction” of the possible markers for judging Canada’s climate change adaptability and resiliency, shortened only to make the report’s implementation “manageable” for policy makers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The Expert Panel struggled to maintain the balance between a manageable number of indicators and what is required to adequately assess adaptation and resilience in Canada,” they write.</p>
<p>Instead of viewing their report as the final word on how how to measure climate resilience, they suggest, take it instead as a first step in a process that must be expanded and tailored over time, depending on how climate change manifests itself across the country.</p>
<h2><span style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: myriad-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Success of northern Indigenous groups</span></h2>
<p>Of particular interest to policy makers based in Southern Canada, which nearly all are, is the effectiveness with which many northern Indigenous groups have led the charge in adapting to a warming world. It’s all the more impressive given the “significantly fewer resources” with which most have accomplished this difficult task, the panel notes.</p>
<p>It’s part of a broader disparity in the ability of rural and remote regions to bankroll adaptive measures with significantly smaller or lower-income tax bases.</p>
<p>“While building adaptive capacity is an inherent component of adaptation,” they write, “social and economic deficits and in some circumstances, lack of basic necessities prohibits consideration of adaptation.” For these vulnerable populations, the panelists argue, improvements in basic living conditions will inherently bolster their ability to adapt to climate change.</p>
<p>Dr. Monika Dutt, executive director of the non-profit <a href="http://www.thinkupstream.net/">Upstream</a> and a family physician at the Wagmatcook First Nation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, said in a release it was “heartening” that human health needs were so prominent in the panel’s analysis of climate change. Moreover, she welcomes the panel’s recognition that income is a “key risk factor” in how greatly climate change can influence health.</p>
<p>“Lower income, or being marginalized in other ways, puts you at greater risk,” Dutt said. “The report acknowledges the need to address social inequality in order to prevent the negative impacts of climate change.”</p>
<h2><span style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: myriad-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Federal government response</span></h2>
<p>Environment Minister McKenna thanked the panel for tabling their report and offering much-needed guidance on protecting the health and prosperity of Canadians by strengthening our collective resilience to climate change.</p>
<p>“Enhancing our understanding of how best to measure Canada’s progress on climate change adaptation will support the government’s efforts to help Canadians prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,” she said in a <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/expert-panel-on-climate-change-adaptation-and-resilience-results-delivers-report-686571721.html">statement</a>.</p>
<p>McKenna, meanwhile, was in Europe last week to co-chair the second Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action, co-hosted by Canada, China and the European Union, to <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/minister-mckenna-promotes-ambitious-climate-action-with-international-partners-in-europe-686195881.html">push for the adoption</a> of “robust implementation guidelines” for the Paris Agreement in advance of COP24 in Poland this December.</p>
Current Events Climate ChangeCommunityCultureFirst NationsHealthPoliticiansTraditional KnowledgeFri, 29 Jun 2018 13:11:54 +0000Andrew Reeves EIC4237 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caFord sets sights on Liberal environmental legacyhttps://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/ford-sets-sights-liberal-environmental-legacy
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<p dir="ltr">Incoming Premier-designate Doug Ford moved quietly this week to begin unravelling the outgoing Liberal government’s environmental legacy.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">After just six months on the job, Ford's new government fired <a href="http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~molly/home.html">Molly Shoichet</a>, an award-winning chemist at the University of Toronto with almost&nbsp;600 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts and patents to her name, who was appointed Ontario's first chief scientist&nbsp;by Kathleen Wynne in November 2017.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I was dismissed. I don’t think it was about me or even about the chief scientist position, but rather an out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new, even though, for me, I had just been there for six months,” <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-doug-ford-fires-ontarios-chief-scientist/">Shoichet told <em>The Globe and Mail</em></a>. A spokesperson for Ford said Shoichet's role is not being eliminated entriely, but that a new "suitable and qualified" candidate will be appointed soon.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">End of Green ON</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Starting in late June, instead of locating information about rebate programs to reduce home energy costs via smart thermostats or better windows, visitors to <a href="https://greenon.ca/">greenon.ca</a> found a notice informing them the $377 million retrofit program was finished. As the <em>National Observer</em> pointed out, the move is <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/06/19/news/under-doug-ford-ontario-will-stop-putting-green-rebates-your-pockets">reminiscent</a> of incoming Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 2006 cancellation of EnerGuide, the federal Liberal’s popular energy retrofit program.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The not-for-profit Green ON initiative was launched in August 2017 by Premier Kathleen Wynne and overseen by then Environment and Climate Change Minister Chris Ballard. The goal was threefold: to reduce Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions; to provide incentives for businesses and homeowners to green their houses and places of work; and to spur small businesses across the province to open or expand their operations into the $6 trillion global cleantech economy.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Small business owners ‘angry’</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner was quick to react to the cancellation, accusing Ford of hurting small businesses heavily invested in the tools needed to conduct home energy retrofits.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’ve already received emails and calls from business owners angry that Ford’s reckless actions will force them to fire staff and lose money,” Schreiner, the newly elected MPP for Guelph, said in a <a href="https://gpo.ca/2018/06/19/ontarios-energy-efficiency-programs-shut-down/">statement</a>. “Mr. Ford has declared war on businesses creating jobs that are good for the environment and that help people save money by saving energy.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Solar industry executives at a renewable energy convention in Calgary this week told reporters that Ford's announcement would see a <a href="https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-energy-investors-expected-snub-195452955.html">significant investments</a> flowing out of Ontario and into&nbsp;province like Alberta.&nbsp;</p>
<p content="Toronto-based SolarWall, which makes solar heating systems for buildings, was poised for &quot;explosive growth&quot; in Ontario but will now concentrate on finding contracts in the United States or Alberta, said Todd Marron, North American sales manager." data-reactid="24" type="text">"There was a ton of investment coming into Ontario," said Todd Marron, North American sales manager for Toronto-based SolarWall, a company that manufactures&nbsp;solar heating systems for commercial and residential buildings. Speaking with the <em>Canadian Press</em> at the Solar Canada expo, Marron said the entire industry&nbsp;was set for&nbsp;"explosive growth" in Ontario, but that investment capital will now head to Alberta "or back to the safe haven of California," he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who stood alongside Wynne and Ballard earlier this year at a Toronto house undergoing an energy retrofit, said on <a href="https://twitter.com/cathmckenna/status/1009187683321761792">Twitter</a> the move was “disappointing,” suggesting the incoming Premier “doesn’t care about climate action or helping families &amp; businesses save money &amp; supporting innovative Ontario businesses and jobs.”</p>
<p class="pull-quote-new">“This means no more money to help businesses become more energy efficient, no money for social housing energy retrofits, and no money for colleges, universities and hospitals to reduce their energy use." — Keith Brooks, Environmental Defence.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This gaping revenue hole will have serious consequences for small businesses, municipalities and other organizations across Ontario reliant on cap-and-trade-generated funding to make the kind of infrastructure changes necessary to save money on energy costs.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">“This means no more money to help businesses become more energy efficient, no money for social housing energy retrofits, and no money for colleges, universities and hospitals to reduce their energy use,” said Keith Brooks, programs director for Environmental Defence, in a <a href="https://environmentaldefence.ca/2018/06/15/environmental-defence-statement-premier-designate-doug-fords-cancellation-cap-trade/">statement</a>. It also means “no funding for cycling infrastructure, electric vehicles, and public transit.”</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">So long cap-and-trade</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Green ON was funded in full by the proceeds of Ontario’s cap-and-trade auctions, part of a joint carbon market with California and Quebec. The province raised close to $3 billion selling carbon offset credits to polluters at roughly $18/tonne for current and future emissions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ford, who railed against Ontario’s cap-and-trade policy since his earliest days in the Progressive Conservative leadership race in February, told reporters last week that his first task as Premier-designate would be to scrap Ontario’s “carbon tax,” as he incorrectly calls it.</p>
<p>“In Ontario, the carbon tax's days are numbered,” he <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-cap-and-trade-1.4707728">said</a> Friday at a Queen’s Park news conference. The announcement sets up an anticipated showdown with the federal government who have vowed to implement a price on carbon pollution for any province that fails to put their own carbon pricing system in place by early 2019.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The incoming provincial government has already budgeted $30 million in taxpayer dollars to fight Ottawa over its carbon reduction plan, with Ford noting months ago his will to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/06/08/ottawa-stands-firm-on-carbon-price-after-doug-fords-ontario-election-win.html">fight</a> Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A spokesperson for Environment Minister McKenna told <em>CBC News</em> the federal government’s mandate for imposing a carbon price on reluctant provinces is clear. “Ontario's current pollution pricing system meets the federal standard,” said McKenna's press secretary Caroline Thériault. And if Ford wants to scrap the Liberal’s plan, “the federal price on pollution,” which could be substantially higher per tonne than Ontario’s $18 price tag, “would apply.”</p>
<p><em><span class="text-small">Last updated Thursday, July 5 at 10:54&nbsp;EST.</span></em></p>
Current Events Climate ChangeEconomicsElectionsEnergy PolicyWed, 20 Jun 2018 15:21:17 +0000davidmcc4228 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caMust ‘Seas’ from the Sustainable Oceans Summit 2017https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/must-%E2%80%98seas%E2%80%99-sustainable-oceans-summit-2017
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<p><em>This is Part 3&nbsp;of a 4 post series on the Sustainable Oceans Summit held in Halifax from Nov. 29-Dec. 1st 2017.</em></p>
<p>From November 29<sup>th</sup> to December 1<sup>st</sup>, the World Ocean Council held the 5th iteration of the Sustainable Ocean Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This summit brings together actors from across the ocean business community with the goal of reinforcing the need for cross-sectoral collaboration in the management of the world’s oceans. In merging business and sustainability, the summit focused on the ocean business community’s efforts and progress towards achieving the United Nations’ “Ocean” Sustainable Development Goals, commonly known as SDGs. Notably, of the 169 targets for achieving these SDGs, nearly 2/3 of them are related to the world oceans. Over the course of the three-day summit, some notable themes were:</p>
<ul>
<li>The growing role of aquaculture in addressing global food security and population growth;</li>
<li>The digital ocean: developments in global satellite ocean monitoring, underwater robotics, the use of GPS-enabled vessel monitoring, and the pros/cons of open data;</li>
<li>The need for continued financial and organizational support for research and development in the ocean sector;</li>
<li>Sustainable shipping measures, by retrofitting, implementing new technologies, and employing voluntary vessel initiatives (e.g. port fee reduction) and certification programs (e.g. Green Marine); and</li>
<li>The uncertainties inherent in species- and ecosystem-level impacts of ocean noise pollution; and</li>
<li>The need for science-based regulations on noise pollution that balances the needs of multiple stakeholders.</li>
</ul>
<p>From these topics, we were particularly impressed by several sessions. Here are our must “seas” from the 2017 Sustainable Oceans Summit:</p>
<p><em>#1: Ocean Investment Platform: Financing Ocean Sustainable Development</em><br />A key takeaway from this session was that, on the road to 2030, one of the major speedbumps will be financing new and innovative ocean technology. Part of the problem is a lack of awareness of the risks and opportunities associated with emergent ocean technologies. Bill Staby from Resolute Marine Energy, developer of a wave-powered desalination technology, emphasized the need for natural infrastructure to be considered on par with man-made infrastructure when financing is concerned. In particular, small and medium enterprises struggle with raising much-needed capital for technologically complex, fast-burning, or ‘first mover’ projects (e.g. offshore renewable energy, port infrastructure, and sustainable aquaculture projects).</p>
<p>As highlighted by Marc-André Blanchard, the Representative of Canada to the United Nations, industry must be bolder in its blue economy approach. In line with the idea of a united and bold blue economy, the World Ocean Council’s ocean investment platform incentivizes financiers to invest in solutions-based technologies and ocean research. The council intends to continue pushing this platform during the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s Investor Forum, coming up in February 2018. Ultimately, the financing of sustainable technology and research not only drives positive change, but can also re-invigorate economies at local and even national levels. First, we just need to convince wealth fund managers and equity firms that it’s worth their time <em>and</em> money….</p>
<p><em>#2: Ocean Industry Projections and the Future of the Ocean Economy </em></p>
<p>As the title suggests, this session looked at the future of industry activity in key ocean economic sectors, focusing on the trends, assumptions, opportunities, and constraints that will impact each sector within the next 15 years. The panel included representatives from the standard ocean industry sectors: shipping, seabed mining, oil and gas, offshore wind energy, fisheries, and aquaculture. However, in a refreshing shift from this standard dialogue, the last panelist, Rutger-de-Graaf van Dinther, spoke about his company Blue 21 and the future of human habitation on the ocean.</p>
<p>Blue 21 is a social enterprise that believes that floating developments, or even cities, can help combat some of the biggest challenges facing our society today, such as land scarcity, climate change, deforestation, and urban growth. Although this all sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, all of the technology and innovations that are needed to make these floating cities a reality already exist. The issue now is bringing them all together so that they can be applied, and this is what Blue 21 is striving to do. In other words, the main challenge Blue 21 is facing right now is how to inspire collaboration amongst various stakeholders so that these developments can become a common reality.</p>
<p><em>#3: Conservation and Ecosystem-based Management: Ship Strikes and Marine Mammals</em></p>
<p>What really made this session stand out was the distinguished and diverse panel, with representatives from research, policy, and business. Kathy Metcalf, longtime shipper and CEO of the Chamber of Shipping of America, stressed the need for global mitigation of marine mammal strikes, but with region-specific solutions.</p>
<p>This is what makes management so difficult - once we all agree that we need to act, we must consider the many unique shipping routes, climate, geographies, and migration patterns of individual regions. And let’s be honest, getting people to ‘save the whales’ isn’t the hard part. Having economically viable, year-round shipping co-exist with these large, highly migratory species is the hard part. Take for example, the twelve endangered right whale mortalities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year - while the shipping sector isn’t solely to blame, many of the whales had vessel strike trauma.</p>
<p>Reducing vessel speed is the most common measure to reduce ship strike fatalities, and this was one of the recommendations put forth by American and Canadian authorities regarding the right whale mortality events. NOAA even hands out certificates of achievement to vessels that have a good track record in speed reduction (and apparently captains really do value them!). However, Metcalf claims strikes that happen under reduced speed can still result in mortality, we just don’t know it because it is not immediate.</p>
<p>Although not perfect either, a seemingly more consistent solution is the re-routing of shipping lanes in high-impact areas. This task is not nearly as daunting as it may seem - successful instances of re-routing have only added on a few minutes to shipping routes, but have significantly reduced strikes.</p>
<p>Dr. Christopher Taggart from the oceanography department at Dalhousie University, claims an integral part of strike mitigation is enforcement. In general, voluntary efforts in speed reduction or re-routing are not nearly as effective as those regulated by states or international bodies, like the International Maritime Organization. When used in tandem with real-time whale alert technology (like the ‘Automatic Identification System’, or AIS), vessels are more likely to avoid whales. And yes, there’s an <a href="http://www.whalealert.org/">app</a> for that.</p>
Current Events WaterMon, 05 Feb 2018 18:12:26 +0000editorial4154 at https://www.alternativesjournal.caImpacts beyond land: Shipping and the marine environment https://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/impacts-beyond-land-shipping-and-marine-environment
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<p><em>This is Part 2&nbsp;of a 4 post series on the Sustainable Oceans Summit held in Halifax from Nov. 29-Dec. 1st 2017.</em></p>
<p>As stated by Cristiana Paşca Palmer, executive secretary of the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity, business and sustainability are no longer adversaries. Rather, biodiversity must underpin economic growth, both on land and at sea. The need for a business-environment partnership was a highlight at the World Ocean Council’s Sustainable Oceans Summit, held last month in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the theme of ‘Sustainable Development Goal 14: Business Leadership and Business Opportunities’. Leaders representing nearly every facet of the blue economy, from oil and gas to financial institutions, came together to discuss topics such as data collection and sharing, technological research and design, and cross-sectoral collaboration. As is the way with most talk around sustainability, what many of these conversations boil down to is impact mitigation, or at the very least, reduction.</p>
<p>While it’s one thing to talk about impact reduction, making it happen is an entirely different thing. I found that this summit particularly excelled in its heavy engagement with the shipping industry in an attempt to move toward more sustainable practice and design. Considering the economic importance of the transportation sector to the blue economy, it was only natural that the shipping industry was both well-represented and well-referenced throughout the three-day conference. In the shipping world, invasive species, noise pollution, water pollution, noxious emissions, and energy consumption are all given due consideration.&nbsp; The role that industry can play in SDG 14 was largely discussed in the context of technological innovation and establishing and regulating sustainable best practices.</p>
<p>In case you missed the summit, here are some of the ways global business leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs are working to enact change, through both technology and regulation.</p>
<p>On the technological side, Tai Chong Cheang presented its plasma ignition technology, which reduces fuel consumption and NOx, Sox, CO2, unburnt hydrocarbon, and particulate matter emissions. Similarly, the conversion to liquid natural gas, or LNG, fuel has become a popular means for vessels to reduce their emissions and cut costs along the way. The conversion to LNG can be applied to existing vessels as a retrofit or incorporated into new builds. Over 100 vessels are currently using LNG (<a href="https://www.green4sea.com/eu-project-for-lng-bunkering-hub-in-scandinavia/">mostly in&nbsp; Scandinavia</a>). Another up-and-coming technology eliminates operational discharge of lubricating oil from vessels’ propeller shafts, <a href="http://www.motorship.com/news101/engines-and-propulsion/chinese-shipbuilders-spearhead-the-return-to-water-lubrication">by replacing it with seawater.</a>.</p>
<p>On the regulatory side of things, one of the most exciting projects on the horizon is ‘GloFouling’ - a joint venture between the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations, and the Global Environment Facility. Building off of the GloBallast project, GloFouling will work with 12 developing countries to develop effective national strategies on biofouling (a major contributor to the transfer of invasive species). GloFouling will likely be carried out over the next 5-7 years.</p>
<p>While programs like GloFouling address sustainability strategies at a national level, shipping businesses are increasingly making themselves ‘greener’ voluntarily. Beyond the corporate image associated with environmental best practice, vessels performing at or above standards can receive financial benefits like reductions in port fees or priority access to loans. Complementing these benefits are certification programs that reward social and environmental best practice (e.g. Green Marine Environmental Program, the Clean Shipping Index, the Environment Ship Index).</p>
<p>Although maritime shipping is the most efficient mode of transportation, the sheer volume of goods transported on a day-to-day basis makes the conversation around ‘green’ shipping an important one to have. If you’ve ever wondered how consumerism adds up, around 1 tonne of cargo is transported per person on earth annually, totaling over 7 billion tonnes in a year. And although it was inspiring to hear about the potential for new technologies and practices to produce positive change, reducing emissions or energy consumption is <em>not </em>a stand-alone solution.</p>
<p>Something I failed to hear throughout the three days at the Sustainable Oceans Summit, and not just as it relates to shipping, was the obvious solution: reduction. Understandably, businesses do not want to lose out by cutting back unnecessarily - instead, they will continue to grow, relying on technologies and practice to even the score. But by changing our values and consumption patterns, we, the consumers, can make up the difference that technology can’t.<br />&nbsp;</p>
Current Events WaterMon, 05 Feb 2018 18:11:50 +0000editorial4153 at https://www.alternativesjournal.ca